ICE agrees to restore deleted immigration records for foreign students

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reversed course Friday morning after it recently deleted the immigration records of hundreds of international students from a database, telling a federal judge it will not enforce the terminations and will work to manually restore the deleted records.

ICE’s attorneys told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, a George W. Bush appointee, that they learned about the development moments before the hearing began.

“ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for service record termination. Until such a policy is issued, the service records for plaintiffs in the Northern District of California cases and all other similarly situated plaintiffs will remain active, or shall be reactivated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the records solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent service record termination,” attorney Elizabeth Kurlan, who represented the agency, told the judge.

Despite the agency’s assurances, White extended an existing temporary restraining order in the case by 14 days, preventing ICE from arresting the named plaintiffs or imposing any legal effects as a result of the terminations.

A preliminary injunction hearing has been set for May 13.

In the courtroom, White addressed eight different cases filed by university students whose visa statuses and legal residency were affected by ICE’s record terminations. Although each of the cases had different circumstances and relief demands, they all had one request of the judge — issue a nationwide order restoring their immigration records and preventing ICE from enforcing further terminations.

Even with the agency’s new decision, the students pushed for a binding court order citing the uncertainties within the Trump administration.

“There’s got to be some court order because as the court noted, this administration changes its position whenever it feels it benefits them. And it wouldn’t prevent, this policy would not prevent ICE from trying something identical or very similar come Monday next week,” Attorney John Sinodis, who represented some of the students, told the court.

ICE maintained an order was no longer necessary, and that the nationwide injunction suggested by the students was not only an extreme measure, but a “disfavored” one.

“The agency is doing exactly what is being requested, which is reactivating these SEVIS records,” attorney Pam Johann, who represented ICE, told White. “We have a sort of a new world order that has been introduced into the record as of this morning.”

However, White seemed skeptical the government would keep to its promise.

“ With this administration, it seems like there’s a new world order every day,” White said.

Four Chinese nationals attending university in the United States sued ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, claiming the agencies violated their constitutional rights by abruptly canceling their student visas without explanation or a way to appeal the decision.

“Without notice, explanation, or any form of due process, ICE terminated the student status of individuals who have done nothing more than maintaining academic standing and complying with their visa requirements,” the students say in their lawsuit.

The four students, who attend universities like Carnegie Mellon, University of California, Berkeley and University of Cincinnati, are asking the court to restore their immigration records and F-1 visa statuses immediately, as well as those of affected foreign students nationwide.

The students say their records were deleted from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or “SEVIS,” a web-based system used by the Department of Homeland Security to track and monitor information about nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the United States.

In early April 2025, ICE initiated an unprecedented wave of terminations against international students with F-1 visas across the country, which the lawsuit estimates affected hundreds, if not thousands, of scholars.

The plaintiffs say terminating their records could cause them irreparable harm, because it affects their visas and those affected are required to leave the country immediately.

“They have to abruptly suspend their studies (one of the plaintiffs is a month away from graduation), end housing arrangements or leases, lose employment authorization, face virtually insurmountable bars when re-entering the U.S. if they depart, and if they have any dependents, their dependents’ status is also terminated,” the students argue in their lawsuit.

While some students in the lawsuit admit they have been arrested in the past, they maintain they have never been convicted of a crime and have complied with the terms of their visas.

ICE’s last-second announcement stirred up court proceedings, forcing attorneys to “react on the fly,” as the judge described it.

The agency took the position that terminating a SEVIS record itself does not affect a person’s F-1 visa status but is only used as a tool for “further investigation” of the student’s status. But the students cited emails from the Department of State received by thousands of students within 48 hours of their record terminations saying they had to leave the country because they were no longer in status.

“In fact, some of the students who were not coerced to self-deport were actually arrested,” Sinodis said. Additionally, he said that there are students currently in custody because their SEVIS was terminated, and that ICE has filed to stay their release.

When questioned if the students named in the various lawsuits are in this country legally, ICE hesitated to give the judge a straight answer.

“ICE does not have information that they are removable — that they have fallen out of status,” Johann said, but added that to definitively claim they are here legally would require further investigation like confirming if the students are actually attending classes.

The students received some hope earlier this month when a judge previously assigned to the case issued a temporary restraining order, but it only prevented ICE from acting on their visa status for another two weeks.

In the long term, plaintiffs are asking the court for an injunction preventing further SEVIS terminations until the court can decide their fate.

The students claim their position is well-supported, given a recent decision in New Hampshire where a judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a SEVIS termination against a doctoral student at Dartmouth College.A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment on Friday’s proceedings.

More than 1,024 students at 160 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since March, according to The Associated Press.